Construction toy having a variable angle joint



1966 M. MENGERINGHAUSEN 3,286,391

CONSTRUCTION TOY HAVING A VARIABLE ANGLE JOINT Filed March 30, 1964 FIG. I

INVENTOR. MAX MENGERINGHAUSEN United States Patent 3,286,391 CONSTRUCTION TOY HAVING A VARIABLE ANGLE JOINT Max Mengeringhausen, Steinachstrasse 5, Wurzburg, Germany Filed Mar. 30, 1964, Ser. No. 355,811 3 Claims. (Cl. 46-29) This invention relates broadly to toys and more particula-rly to a" construction toy having members which may be selectively assembled and disassembled for the skeletal construction of buildings or the like.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a construction toy which enables construction rod members to be inserted in connecting members at any desired angle.

Another object of the invention is to provide a construction toy having novel connecting means for construction rod elements.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a connecting member (for a construction toy which is not objectionably deformed by the insertion of construction rods the-rein at various angles.

A further object of the invention is to provide a construction toy in which the connecting members are relatively small and firmly grip the connecting rods at all angles of insertion.

Other and further objects of the invention are set forth more fully in the specification, hereinafter following by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view, on an enlarged scale, of a connecting piece of the construction toy of the invention; and

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along line 22 of FIG. 1, and particularly showing the manner in which construction rods are inserted into and held by the connecting member.

Construction toys of the prior art have never solved the problems of enabling construction rods representing structural girders, or the like, to be inserted into connecting members so as to be arranged at practically any imaginable or suitable angle between two adjacent rods inserted into the same connecting member, with the connee-ting members always providing a firm engagement for all rods inserted therein. The construction toy of the present invention solves these problems and makes it possible to build any acute-angled. triangle structure, to

insert a diagonal structural member across any rectangul'ar'structure already built from construction rods, or

to insert a construction rod structural member into a hole in a connecting member so that the of the construction rod is disposed in angular relation with the axis of the connecting member hole. The construction toy which make-s these adchievements possible comprises? (1 Small connecting members or pieces 1 in the form ofsphe-rical bodies constructed of a soft resilient or elastic material having a. Shore hardness of approximately 35 and each having a plurality of holes 2 therein with interior wall means.

(2) Generally rigid construction rod members 3 ter'- the form of a small spherical body having a plurality of cylindrical holes 2 disposed therein such that the center axes of all the holes intersect at the center of the spherical body. The spherical connecting member 1 is constructed of a soft resilient material, such as plastic or rubber, having a Shore hardness of not more than about 3-5. It has been found that connecting members having a Shore hardness of about 35 show no premature wear even after construction rods 3 have been inserted and removed frequently over a substantial period of use. The

preferred form of the connecting member 1 includes eighteen holes 2 which may be evenly spaced along three circular paths, around the sphere, disposed at night angles to each other similar to the three axes of a solid geometrical figure or body. By way of example, the connecting member 1 may have a diameter of 16 millimeters with each hole 2 having a diameter of about 2 millimeters.

Each construction rod 3 is constructed of a relatively rigid material with its ends also being rigid. A plurality of rods 3 can be inserted into each connecting member 1, enough to utilize every hole 2, but for purposes of illustration in FIG. 2 onlythree rods 3 have been shown inserted into three adjacent holes 2 of the connecting member. Each rod '3 has a hemispherical connecting head means 4 on the end thereof with the rounded portion extending outwardly for insertion in hole 2. The hemispherical head 4 terminates in a rear wall 5' extending perpendicular to the center axis of the rod' 3 with the outer edge 10 of wall 5, that is, the terminating edge of the hemispherical head 4 being relatively sharp or abrupt. The thickness 9 of shaft portion 6 of construction rod 3, connected immediately behind hemispherical head 4, is about half of the diameter of wall 5 or o-fhemispherical head 4. Since the hemispherical head 4 has a diameter of about twice that of holes 2, this means that the diameter of shaft portion 6 is about the same as the diameter of holes 2 in the spherical connecting member.

It is to be understood that the entire construction rod. 3 may have the same diameter as shaft portion 6. However construction rods 3, having larger diameters, as shown at 8, can also be used with the connectingmembers 1, but with larger diameter rods 3 it is necessary to" connect the full diameter portion 8 of the rod to the reduced diameter shaft portion 6 of the rod by a conical transition portion 7, having wall portions diverging. toward the end of the rod so that there is sufficient room about the periphery of the spherical connecting mem' bers 1 for very closely arranged rods of. larger diameters. By tapering; the construction rods in this manner,

'--it has been found' that rods 3 having diameters of 10 millimeters and more can easily be joined with a connecting member havinga diameter of only 16 millimeters with holes therein of only 2 millimeters.

The twoupper construction rods 3, shown in' FIG. 2', are arranged so that their center axes 1'1 and 12 register or coincide with the center axes 13- and 14, respectively,

of the cylindrical holes 2 in thespherical'connecting mem-f her 1. Asillustrated, the angle alpha represents the angle between the center axes of two adjacent holes 2 in the connecting member. Thebott-om construction'rod fa' isshown inserted in a corresponding hole 2 in the connecting member 11 at an angle alpha/2 to the center axis 15' of the '3 moves into the hole, since the hole is bored in resilient material, such as rubber or the like, and as the head 4 progresses toward the bottom of the hole 2 the diameter of the hole behind the head 4 resiliently constricts to its original size, so as to move into firm holding engagement with the outer wall of shaft portion 6 of the construction rod, to thus firmly hold the rod in position. When the construction member is fully inserted into the hole the hemispherical head 4 is disposed almost at the bottom of the hole and the sharp edged border of the connecting head portion grips the interior wall means of resilient material, due to the expansion it has caused in the material, causing the hole 2 to widen conically inwardly toward the center of the sphere with the base of the conical portion lying adjacent the edge 10. When the connecting member is removed, the bore of hole 2 is resiliently expanded in reverse order. Although the terminating edge 10 of the hemispherical head 4 is relatively sharp, the resilient material from which the connecting member 1 is constructed is not damaged as long as the material has a Shore hardness of the approximate amount specified.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, when the bottom construction rod is inserted into the hole 2 at an angle with the center axis of the hole, the interior walls or interior wall means of the holes are not expanded concentrically in the same manner as if the rod 3 was inserted into the hole so that its center axis coincides with the center axis of the hole. The surface of the connecting member lying adjacent one side of the hole 2 is compressed somewhat, as illustrated in FIG. 2, so as to distort the surface of the connecting member on the side of the hole very slightly, but not to any objectionable or noticeable degree. As the rod is inserted at an angle the walls of the hole constrict against the outer wall of shaft portion 6, but due to the slight distortion of the connecting member surface on one side of the .hole, the entire area of one side of shaft portion 6 will be in frictional engagement with one side of the interior wall of hole 2 before the hemispherical head 4 reaches the bottom of the hole. The opposite inner wall of hole 2 does not constrict int-o friction engagement with the respective outer wall portion of shaft portion 6 and for this reason the firmness of the grip, provided by the connecting member for a construction rod inserted at an angle, is slightly less than that for a rod inserted such that its axis coincides with the hole axis.

The angular introduction of a construction rod 3 into the hole of a connecting member usually occurs in practice when unusual framework constructions in a model are to be checked for their aesthetic effect on the eye. In these cases, the rods 3 inserted at an angle are always part of a framework triangle which is held together by at least three connecting members 1, so that the slight reduction in holding power, provided by the connecting members 1 on the angularly inserted rod, does not become noticeable. However, the resilient connecting member 1 does not yield unilaterally all on one side of the hole 2 when a rod is inserted at an angle as the portion of the rod inside the hole distorts the opposite side wall of the hole inwardly of the connecting piece, so that the connecting member maintains its spherical symmetry without noticeable distortion of the surface in almost the same manner as when the axes of all of the inserted rods coincide with the axes of the cylindrical holes of the connecting member.

.The construction toy of the present invention for the first time provides sufficient holding force by the connecting piece so that a construction rod can be firmly held by the connecting member even if it is not completely inserted or if it is inserted at an angle which amounts to half the angle formed by the center axes of adjacent holes in the spherical connecting member.

The present construction toy also enables technical construction of scaled models to be made with relatively large diameter connecting rods even though the diameter of the holes in the connecting members are substantially smaller than the diameters of the construction rods. The resilient connecting members also provide a firm hold on the construction rods so that when a model is constructed with the toy of the invention, it will not fall apart easily by a slight mishap which is common to other construction toys 1 of this type in the construction art, even though the connecting members and the bores therein are relatively small. As previously indicated the present invention enables the building of various space frameworks due to the number of holes in each connecting member and enables the arrangement of construction rods 3 at practically any angle between two adjacent construction rods inserted in the same connecting members.

While the invention has been described in certain preferred embodiments it is realized that modifications may be made and it is to be understood that no limitations upon the invention are intended other than those imposed by the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the Uni-ted States is as follows:

1. A construction toy comprising in combination, a relatively small spherical connecting member of elastic material with a Shore hardness of about 35 and having a plurality of substantially cylindrical holes therein having interior wall means, generally rigid rod members having cylindrical shaft portions on the ends thereof of substantially the same diameter as the cylindrical holes, said cylindrical shaft portions terminating in hemispherical head means having relatively sharp edges adapted for insertion in the holes of said connecting member and engageable with the wall means of said cylindrical holes at selected angles to anchor said cylindrical shaft portions therein in selected angular relations to the axes of said cylindrical holes, and said hemispherical head means having a diameter of about twice that of said cylindrical holes and said cylindrical shaft portions.

2. A construction toy as set forth in claim 1 in which said spherical connecting member is constructed of rubber and has eighteen holes therein adapted to receive a plural ity of said generally rigid rod members in selected angular relation therein.

3. A construction toy as set forth in claim 1 in which said rigid rod members have a diameter greater than said cylindrical shaft portions, and generally conical transition 1 portions connecting said rigid rod members and said cylindrical shaft portions.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner. F. BARRY SHAY, Examiner. 

1. A CONSTRUCTION TOY COMPRISING IN COMBINATION, A RELATIVELY SMALL SPHERICAL CONNECTING MEMBER OF ELASTIC MATERIAL WITH A SHORE HARDNESS OF ABOUT 35 AND HAVING A PLURALITY OF SUBSTANTIALLY CYLINDRICAL HOLES THEREIN HAVING INTERIOR WALL MEANS, GENERALLY RIGID ROD MEMBERS HAVING CYLINDRICAL SHAFT PORTIONS ON THE ENDS THEREOF SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME DIAMETER AS THE CYLINDRICAL HOLES, SAID CYLINDRICAL SHAFT PORTIONS TERMINATING IN HEMISPHERICAL HEAD MEANS HAVING RELATIVELY SHARP EDGES ADAPTED FOR INSERTION IN THE HOLES OF SAID CONNECTING MEMBER AND ENGAGEABLE WITH THE WALL MEANS OF SAID CYLINDRICAL HOLES AT SELECTED ANGLES TO ANCHOR SAID CYLINDRICAL SHAFT PORTION THEREIN IN SELECTED ANGULAR RELATIONS TO THE AXES OF SAID CYLINDRICAL HOLES, AND SAID HEMISPHERICAL HEAD MEANS HAVING A DIAMETER OF ABOUT TWICE THAT OF SAID CYLINDRICAL HOLES AND SAID CYLINDRICAL SHAFT PORTIONS. 